Indianapolis – The twice Defensor winner of Indianapolis 500 Josef Newgarden and his teammate of the Penske Will Power team will have to start from the two final places on the grill on Sunday after their teams were penalized for violating rules During the weekend of rating.
Indycar also announced on Monday that team strategists for numbers 2 and 12 have been suspended for the race; The cars will lose their qualification points and boxes of boxes; And each of the tickets has been fined $ 100,000.
It is the second time in just over a year that the Indycar program of the PENSKE team has been involved in controversy.
“The integrity of Indianapolis 500 is essential,” said Indycar president Doug Boles. “As we look for the rest of the week and the weekend of the race, we will do everything possible to make it clear that this is not only the best race on the planet, but the races where the best wins in completely fair conditions.”
The problem for the Penske team began before Fast 12 Shotout on Sunday, when the owner of the team’s rival, Chip ejoussi, was among a choir of competitors who accused him of cheating. They realized that changes had been made not approved in the rear attenuator, a security device designed to absorb and deduce the strength of the impacts, and the assumption was that the modifications would have given the two cars of the team an aerodynamic advantage in their qualified four laps races.
Tim Cindric, president of the Indycar de Penske program, said Power approved the inspection, but the officials had marked Newgarden’s car, and told him that neither of them passed the inspection after making their careers. Then, the cars were taken from the alignment completely.
Boles initially said Sunday night that Newgarden and Power would join their teammate Scott McLaughlin, who had crashed into practice on Sunday and could not make a classification race, in the fourth row for the race. But after the series gathered more facts and considered the case, the decision was made to put Newgarden in starting position 32 and Will’s energy in the 33rd.
McLaughlin will maintain the tenth starting point because it was discovered that his shattered car had used a legal attenuator.
“This violation of the Indycar rule against the modification of this part and use it ‘as supplied’ is clear,” said Boles. “The penalty should be more than simply starting where cars could have described anyway, if they are given the opportunity. The cars belong to the field as two of the fastest 33, however, starting in the tail of the field is the appropriate penalty in this case.”
A year ago, the Penske team was caught in a posterior scandal in which it was discovered that Newgarden had access to an additional impulse of power when it should not have in the opening of the season. He was stripped of his victory and the owner of the Roger Penske team, who also owns Indycar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Cindric suspended for two racesincluding the INDY 500.
The managing director Ron Ruzewski, Newgarden Luke Mason and data engineer Robbie Atkinson data were also suspended.
Cindric and Ruzewski will now miss their second consecutive Indy 500.
“As far as I’m concerned, this case is closed,” said Boles.
Newgarden, who is trying to become the first pilot in 109 years to win three consecutive Indy 500, was a contestant to win the post. He was running for his anger in the field of the Speedway field on Sunday as he roared another classification session.
Pato O’ward, who drives for rival Arrow McLaren, said after qualifying in the front row that Indycar should have penalized Penske cars by making them run in a last chance to re -require the points in the starting grid of 33 cars. He also expressed his sympathy for the four drivers who had to compete for the final three points With Jacob Abel losing the race.
“I feel bad for Abel and all who made the qualification of the last chance. Those cars were not in regulation,” O’Ward said about the two Penske cars. “Those cars should have been in the last chance qualifier … because they had that (Saturday), I guarantee it.”
O’ward also openly wondered why Team Penske continues to pushing the envelope in the rules.
“It’s a shame,” he said. “They are a great team. They have great drivers. Why do you do that? It makes no sense.”
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The Aut Auto Racing writer, Jenna Fryer, contributed to this report.
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Aut Auto Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
